Simar Singh is a young entrepreneur based out in Bombay. He’s enthusiastic and his zest for life is infectious. He’s been in business growing courgettes and tomatoes for only 2 years and already his produce has exceeded his targets and is in high demand. Lidhar Farms are owned by Simar Singh, his brother Pavan and father Jagwinder, it is set on 1 hectare of land with 2 glass houses and the use of another in the neighbouring property. Simar manages the day to day running of the business with the help of the property’s previous owners Nick Na and Choi and neighbour Jasmine. His brother and father still have full time jobs elsewhere and assist in the weekends.
Born in Punjab, India where he grew up on 2.5 hectares of land which had been handed down from generation to generation throughout his family over many years. He helped his father grow wheat and rice. His life sounded pretty idyllic…..went to a good school, lived in a house in the suburbs, his world revolved around playing as much soccer as possible. I was lucky enough to meet Simar’s father Jagwinder for the first time as he’s normally at his day job where he works at VeriKiwi in Patumahoe. He told me how at the age of 18 he was determined to earn more money for his family which at that point was just cropping the land. He purchased 5 cows and sold the milk, still looking for new opportunities he then approached the local government and set up a system where other local farmers brought their milk to him, he then tested it for milk fats and other compliance requirements and arranged its collection. Quite a clever idea for an 18 year old. Jagwinder didn’t want to come to NZ, he enjoyed his life in India but with the persuasion of his mother and brother who were already based here, he was lured over in 2012.
Simar was only 16 when he came to NZ, he had a couple of exhausting, intense jobs working for an orchard, his own courier business then long haul truck driving. The hours were long and tiring but paid off as by 2021 he and his father and brother had enough money to purchase their current land in Bombay. He is passionate about Lidhar Farms, smiling widely every time he has the opportunity to talk about what led him to where he is today. He states ‘My life started when I came to NZ, all of us, my brother, father and myself have had to work so hard but now we can reap the rewards, I know my family have my back, I am so happy. It’s still very hard work, tomato plants take a full 12 months from planting to harvest. That’s a long time to nurture through our weather conditions, its actually a 24/7 job keeping the glass houses warm in the winter and fighting off disease. I love trees, I’ve already planted 400 (Hedges, Plums, Indian Guavas, Lemons, Oranges and Blue berries). My target is to plant 100 trees a year.” When asked what plans he has in life, “I really want to learn how to play golf”.
Life for Simar is about to change drastically. He heads off to India next month to marry his fiancé in a traditional arranged marriage, they have both spoken many times but never actually met. When asked if he was nervous, “not at all, she seems lovely, comes from a farming background so understands hard work, she is well educated. I’m looking forward to teaching her about NZ culture and starting a new life together.”
We wish you all the best Simar.